If we say that Qin Shihuang was the
first emperor who unified China in terms of territory, then the first emperor
who unified China in terms of ideology was none other than Han Wudi (Emperor Wu
of the Western Han Dynasty). In order to consolidate his rule, he proscribed all
non-Confucian schools of thought and espoused Confucianism as the state
ideology, thus pushing Confucius up into the orthodox position. For two thousand
years thereafter, Confucianism had been the only one dominant school of thought
in China.

Han Wudi, named Liuche, ascended the throne at
the age of 15. He was the fifth emperor of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD)
and reigned from 141BC to 86BC, which is one of the most celebrated periods in
Chinese history. During the period of Wen and Jing emperors before Han Wudi,
China was peaceful and prosperous -- population grew greatly and industry and
commerce were developed. Han Wudi, son of Emperor Jin, carried out a series of
reforms and devoted himself to military conquests and territorial expansion.

Han Wudi's most important military campaigns
were against the Hun, an ancient tribe that lived in North China who posed a
powerful threat to the Han Empire. After three expeditions, Han Wudi finally
drove the Hun into the far north of Gobi, thus maintaining the safety of the
Hexi Corridor. In order to avoid the aggression of other nomadic tribes, Han
Wudi also ordered the construction of the Great Wall.

In
138 BC, Han Wudi sent Zhang Qian
-- Chinese ambassador-- with a diplomatic expedition to Central Asia to try to
find allies against the Hun. Failing to achieve his original purpose, Chinese ruler became
aware of the cultures and customs of other nationalities. Eventually, this led
to the opening of the Silk Road, which later served as a route for cultural and
economic exchange between the east and the west.

Han Wudi accepted Dong Zhongru's proposal of
"rejecting the other schools of thought and respecting only Confucianism" which
ended the period of "contention among one hundred schools of thought".
Afterwards, Confucian thought became gradually an orthodox theory and had a
far-reaching influence on Chinese philosophy. He also restrained other thoughts
but made Confucianism a state ideology. While unifying the state ideology, Han
Wudi strengthened the centralized state power and weakened local
forces.

He realized the malpractice of eupatrid and
established the Imperial College to train qualified officials and talents to
strengthen feudal centralization. Han Wudi was not only a statesman but also of
great talent. "Yuefu" -- an official conservatory was set up to collect folk
songs and ballads and most of the folk songs in the Han Dynasty were come down
from that period. Yuefu poems had a great influence on later periods.

In order to pay his military cost, Han Wudi
raised taxes, nationalized many private businesses and confiscated property of
the nobility. He also advocated statism in the fields of finance and commerce.
For example, he announced that only the coins minted by the central government
could be in circulation; metallurgy and salt processing were also forbidden
among the people. Business run by the government enjoyed an exclusive right and
the government imposed heavy property tax on industrialists and businessmen to
enhance the income of the court. The Western Han Dynasty became unprecedented
rich and powerful, centralization strengthened and its feudal economy
flourished.

During the reign of Han Wudi, the Western
Han Dynasty was in a period of great prosperity. Han Wudi died at the age of 71
in 86BC. The Western Han began to decline after his death. Wudi was buried in
Maoling in Xian Yang of today's Shaanxi Province. His tomb was a subulate in
shape. The tomb covers 54,054 square meters. On the remains of the bounding
walls, the vestiges of watchtowers could be seen. The largest among the tombs of
the Western Han Dynasty, with richest funeral objects, the tomb is named Pyramid
in China.